Retiree gets 28 stitches after German Shepherd attack

Recuperating: Badriah’s sons Ezarul Suhaimi, 29 (left) and Ezamil Suhaimi, 28, checking on her at the Pantai Hospital in Penang.

GEORGE TOWN: A retiree received 28 stitches on the head, arm and thigh after she was attacked by her neighbour’s German Shepherd in Bukit Jambul here.

The canine pounced on Badriah Hanani Abu Bakar, 53, and sunk its teeth into her thigh, ripping off part of her pants.

She slumped to the ground and hit her head hard, resulting in profuse bleeding.

Her husband Suhaimi Ismail, 60, watched in horror as the dog went on to bite his wife’s arm before its owner rushed out to grab it. The dog allegedly ran out of the house when its owner opened the gate.

“It all happened so fast. I remember screaming for help when I saw the dog barking and charging towards me. Then I blacked out after I fell down,” Badriah said at the Pantai Hospital in Jalan Tengah yesterday.

“The owner lives only four houses away from me and we have never seen that dog before.”

She received 13 stitches on the head, 12 on the left arm and three on the right thigh.

Badriah said she was talking to her neighbour outside her house when the incident happened at 8.15am on Sunday.

“I now worry for the other residents there.

“There are many kids playing and senior citizens taking walks in the mornings and evenings. What will happen if the dog attacks them?” Badriah said, adding that owners should keep their dogs from other residents, especially if the animals are aggressive.

It is learnt that the owner did not have a licence for his dog.

Suhaimi lodged reports at the Sungai Nibong police station, the Penang Municipal Council (MPPP) and the state Veterinary Services Department, which had since taken the canine away pending investigations.